Thursday, May 1, 2014

My Chai- part 1

I always thought I would post about my chai in the fall. During the cooler weather I always have a pot of chai going, and if you visit me you will have some too. But yesterday, I woke up to a wet, chilly, 41 degree morning. I needed my chai. Like most foods or herbal concoctions that I make I don't have a recipe written in stone.

The spices I use are: cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, black pepper and bay leaf. This is the start of my favorite basic chai.

The amount of spices shown here are for 6-8 cups of water.

Bring it to a boil and continue cooking for 30-60 minutes. If I'm not drinking it right away I'll leave it to steep and reheat later to finish.

It turns a nice red amber color. The longer is cooks, the deeper it gets. Now, it's time to add the tea and the ginger. I use black or red (rooibos) tea, depending on my mood or the time of day (caffeine). I have also made it with green tea, for a cold chai drink (but I will leave that subject for another day).

You will lose a cup or two of the water through the cooking process, so adjust your tea amount accordingly. I put the tea in to steep with a couple of tbs of fresh ginger. I use ginger paste. I take an entire ginger root (unpeeled) and Vitamix it.

When the tea is done steeping, strain everything out and add sweetener, vanilla or milk if you like.It already has a degree of sweetness from the cinnamon, but I like the extra flavor of coconut sugar.

Yesterday, as I said, was such a dreary day. It took more than just my chai to take the chill out and brighten things up. I used my happiest cup and made a strawberry crumble with oats, coconut sugar, ww flour and butter. Yum!

My daughters didn't know what I was cooking up for tea time. The small one started jumping around and laughing when I showed them the strawberry crumble. "What's so funny?", I asked.

Apparently, while I was busy making strawberry crumble, she was busy making a felt strawberry.

Our life is chock full of these little moments of synchronicity.

Synchronicity: The experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, where they are unlikely to be causally related. The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence.

2 comments:

This weather is crazy. I also find myself falling into autumn patterns lately! I love chai tea but I don't drink any caffeine so I generally avoid chai, too. But Rooibos is one of my favorites and such a great idea as a substitute. Tell B** I like her felt strawberry and I love the fact that you were both feeling the berry vibe together.

About me

A designer by trade, I quit the NYC rat race to birth, feed and educate my children. We spend our days making things, growing things and getting caught up in books. Although I occasionally hug trees, I do not worship them. I do in fact worship the Creator, who makes himself evident in every leaf and bud. I have been making and selling things under the name Children of Eve since 1987.